Grace for All Podcast By Jim Stovall Greta Smith First United Methodist Church Maryville TN cover art

Grace for All

Grace for All

By: Jim Stovall Greta Smith First United Methodist Church Maryville TN
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"Grace for All" is a daily devotional podcast from the laity of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Each episode presents scripture and a brief reflection, written and recorded by members of our church. These short episodes are meant to inspire you and support your journey of understanding and faith. We believe the central message of Jesus is one of grace. Grace for all human beings. Grace for All is a podcast ministry of First United Methodist Church, Maryville, TNCopyright 2026 Jim Stovall, Greta Smith, First United Methodist Church, Maryville, TN Christianity Hygiene & Healthy Living Ministry & Evangelism Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • Tomb Moments (Lent) Holy Saturday

    Tomb Moments (Lent) Holy Saturday
    Apr 4 2026
    Holy WeekHoly SaturdayWelcome to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast written and produced by the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Thank you for joining us today. This is Holy Week, a time when Christians everywhere observe the days leading up to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ. This week, we present a special set of podcasts that day by day, trace the activities and words of Jesus during this time. Again, thank you for joining us on this journey.Matthew 27:62-66The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.Holy Saturday, the day between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, is the day Jesus is in the tomb. Does this “in between” times have anything to tell us? To get at the answer to this question we need to go back to that Saturday and look at what the people who knew Jesus were doing. The Gospels have different accounts. In Matthew, whose scripture we read, the focus is on the Chief Priest and the Pharisees. They are at Pilate’s house, demanding that a guard be placed at the tomb to prevent the disciples from stealing the body and saying he rose from the dead. In Luke we have the women who had been with him, even at the foot of the cross, preparing spices so they could finish the embalming process once the Sabbath was over. In Mark and John there is silence about this day but later in John we are told that the disciples were in hiding behind locked doors, fearful that the authorities who had put Jesus to death would come for them. I call all of these “tomb moments.” It is a time of endings and death. A time seemingly void of hope and possibilities. Remember, for these first disciples there was no Easter, just the stark reality that their beloved teacher and friend had been cruelly put to death.When we pause to reflect, we realize that we all have our tomb moments. These are times of great loss, disappointment and grief. Life, as we know it is no longer a possibility and what is to come is unknown, often unwanted and possibly frightening. This is a time of acute grief. The first day after a great loss can be almost worse than the day it happened. This day you wake up for the first time knowing a void that will never be filled. Whether that void is due to a death, loss of a job, or the ending of a dream, you know that your life has forever changed and there is no going back.How do you live during tomb moments? The women highlight one approach in there preparing spices for the embalming. They were focussing on the loss, trying to process it by putting all their mental energy towards funeral preparations. This is a common expression of grief. You know that a new day has dawned but you are not ready to deal with it. Others, like the male disciples, can be filled with fear about the unknowns ahead. We accept the loss, but it leaves us with a jumble of emotions, from anger at the person we love dying, to fear as to what we are going to do and what our future might look like, to helplessness because it all feels so overwhelming. The Pharisees and Chief Priest give us one more approach, proclaiming that new life is an impossibility. And doing everything in their power to resist moving forward in life. Yes, we have our tomb moments. We see our actions and feelings mirrored in the lives of those living through these horrific moments. Holy Saturday speaks to such times. Remember, the friends of Jesus did not have the reassurance of Easter at this moment, but they were not forsaken. Jesus had promised that he would send a comforter. God was with them at this moment. What did these friends of Jesus do this Saturday? I am guessing what most of us do at these moments. They shared memories of Jesus, They remembered his words, his miracles, his kindness, and his love. In spite of everything, there had to be a few smiles amid the tears and perhaps even a laugh or two. The promised comfort Jesus had promised was at work. So when we are facing the tomb of death and other loss know God is with us. God is doing all that God can do to comfort us and sustain us often through the love and care of others. We can rest assured that our grief, our fears, and whatever other emotions we are feeling will not last. New life awaits us even if we don’t really want that life at that moment. And often we are surprised as we walk forward in trust that the new life we receive is so much more than we could ever have hoped for. We are often surprised by what life still has to offer us, just as those who waited through this dark day would find. Let us ...
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    10 mins
  • Maundy Thursday (Lent)

    Maundy Thursday (Lent)
    Apr 2 2026
    Holy WeekMaundy Thursday

    Welcome to our special Holy Week Podcast for Maundy Thursday.

    The word “maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning command. The English word mandate comes to mind. This term Maundy Thursday helps us to recall Jesus’ mandate to remember Him, using the observance of Holy Communion/The Lord’s Supper…

    Today’s scripture comes from two segments of Luke Chapter 22.


    Luke 22:19-20 “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’ ”



    In this last supper gathering with his twelve closest disciples, Jesus knew what was coming and he made good use of every moment, and every word said at this meal. He wanted his disciples to understand how important his final instructions were. The disciples may not have known why Jesus said the bread was his body and the cup his blood, but we do.

    As events unfolded, they would have remembered the strange words about bread as body and wine as blood. Perhaps their very first recollection of his commanding words filled them later that evening as they were with him in the Garden as he prayed.


    We hear this part of the evening from our second scripture selection.

    Luke 22:41-44 He withdrew about a stone throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed. ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.



    Perhaps the disciples heard his anguished prayer and even saw his bloody agonized sweat that stained his robe. As the evening came to its dreadful finale, with his arrest, they all ran away, leaving him alone with no support as the battalion of soldiers took him away.

    I can imagine the disciples as they walked the floor or tossed and turned in their beds, sleepless that whole night. Perhaps the mandate from Jesus rang over and over in their ears – “This is my body. This is my blood. Remember me! Remember me!”

    We know they did remember and thank God they wrote his stories and his words and their memories of him in the Gospels and letters in the New Testament, so we too can know and remember Him.

    In the United Methodist Church when we observe Holy Communion services, we ask the Holy Spirit to be poured on us and on the gifts of bread and grape juice, that the bread and juice be for us the body and blood of Christ, so we, who receive them, may be for the world, the body of Christ redeemed by his blood.

    So, friends, let’s lift up this Maundy Thursday prayer to our Lord Jesus to show Him and the world that we do remember and that we hope to LOVE as He loves, to live as He lived, always loving GOD and our neighbor.

    Prayer:

    Dear Loving Lord Jesus, who died on that cross for all of us – help us to always remember you and to follow your mandate to LOVE one another as you have LOVED us - not only on this Maundy Thursday but every day of our lives. In your Holy Name we pray, Amen.

    This devotion was written and read by Bernice Howard.


    Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

    If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

    First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
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    6 mins
  • From a distance (Lent)

    From a distance (Lent)
    Apr 3 2026
    Holy WeekGood Friday Welcome to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast written and produced by the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Thank you for joining us today. This is Holy Week, a time when Christians everywhere observe the days leading up to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ. This week, we present a special set of podcasts that day by day, trace the activities and words of Jesus during this time. Again, thank you for joining us on this journey.Luke 23:44-49 (NLT) By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words, he breathed his last.”When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshipped God and said, Surely this man was innocent.’ And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow. But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching. Luke gives us a description of what happens as Jesus dies. The darkness. The Temple curtain. And what the people present do, or don’t do. I’m drawn to an often overlooked phrase in verse 49: But Jesus’ friends stood at a distance, watching.When I first became aware of that sentence, I was offended. Even angry. Really, his friends?? The crowd was up close, the soldier professed his faith. But his friends hung back. Stayed at a distance. At the time, Jesus needed them the most. So disappointing.But I stayed with this passage. Continued to ponder it. And I came to realize that this is what I do. And I’ll bet you do. And it’s the reason we have what we call Good Friday. We are to spend Good Friday looking at Jesus die on a cross. And reflecting on it. And asking ourselves, what are we seeing, and what does it mean?So today—Good Friday—I want to tell you what I see as I watch the Son of God die on a cross. Three things.First, when I stand at a distance and see Jesus die, I see a God who understands my suffering. The oldest, hardest question for a believer is: if God is good, why does he allow the innocent to suffer? The most ancient book in the Bible, the book of Job, wrestles with this question. And doesn’t satisfactorily answer it. Truthfully, there is no completely adequate answer to the question. But when Jesus chooses the cross in obedience to God, he chooses suffering. Here we see a God who has decided to identify with the hardest things we have to face. Think of it: an all powerful God, a holy, righteous God, not only has come to be with us, but has chosen vulnerability, weakness, suffering. I read of a bitter, grieving father whose son had died in a terrible car accident and asked his minister, “Where was God when my son died?” With great compassion the minister said, “The same place he was when his own son died—on the cross.”Life is not easy, and sooner or later we all are hit with suffering we don’t deserve. I don’t have an answer to why, but when I stand at a distance and watch the Son of God die on a cross, I see a God who chose to identify with me, who chose to understand my suffering.There is a second thing I see when I stand at a distance. I see a God who understands my failures. By every human standard, Jesus’ earthly life ended in failure. He had early success and popularity, but over time opposition to him mounted. And finally, he was executed as a criminal, between criminals. Executed by a cruel method reserved for the worst of people. Isaiah 53 says, “He was despised and rejected.” So he was.Have you ever failed at something big? A job? A marriage? Parenting? Something that truly matters? It is consoling to know our Lord experienced rejection in the worst way possible, the heart of his message ignored. He dies with only a handful of folks standing by him.When my grandson, Jacob, was about 10 years old, I took him to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. It’s a fascinating place and we were having a great time. They have a Top Gun Simulator where a person can climb into the cockpit and experience what it’s like to fly a F-14 fighter jet. Jake, of course, wanted to try it. So he took the pilot’s seat and I sat behind in the copilot’s seat. He guided the controls as we took off, then zoomed over beaches and the Gulf of Mexico toward our destination, an aircraft carrier in the Gulf. The simulation was to end with a landing on the carrier. As we approached that narrow strip of ship bobbing in the water, I could see Jake tense up. When we began to get close I realized one wing was down and we weren’t lined up properly so I said, “Pull up Jake!” I didn’t have the controls, I could only speak into his ear. He managed to gain altitude and we circled back around. ...
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    15 mins
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